High Speed 2 Railway Line

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost to the public purse was of the Brackley High Speed 2 Roadshow.

Philip Hammond: The cost for the Brackley High Speed 2 Roadshow venue was £1,540. The exhibition material is owned by HS2 Ltd. This does not reflect staff time attending the events which would be difficult to break down per venue.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost to the public purse was of the Upper Boddington High Speed 2 Roadshow.

Philip Hammond: The cost for the Upper Boddington High Speed 2 Roadshow venue was £330. The mobile exhibition vehicle is owned by HS2 Ltd. This cost does not reflect staff time attending the events which would be difficult to break down per venue.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost to the public purse was of the Chipping Warden High Speed 2 Roadshow.

Philip Hammond: The cost of the Chipping Warden High Speed 2 Roadshow venue was £148.50. The mobile exhibition vehicle is owned by HS2 Ltd. This cost does not reflect staff time attending the events which would be difficult to break down per venue.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost to the public purse of the High Speed 2 project has been to date.

Philip Hammond: HS2 Ltd spent £24.1 million (excluding VAT) between January 2009, when it was established, and the end of the 2010-11 financial year. In addition, the Department spent £9.6 million on property purchases under the Exceptional Hardship Scheme up to the end of the 2010-11 financial year.

Disability Living Allowance

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households receive the severe disability premium; and how many such households have a child who is caring for a disabled adult.

Maria Miller: holding answer 8 June 2011
	The Department for Work and Pensions do not hold specific management information on young carers as they are the responsibility of the Department for Education. However, 2001 census data suggests there are approximately 139,000 young carers in England, of whom 22,000 are caring for 20-50 hours a week. (More recent informal sources suggest that the numbers may be higher and we await the 2011 census data to confirm this.) Information on the number of households receiving the severe disability premium is given in the following table.
	The issue of young carers is a challenging one and supporting them is a priority for is Government. The Government's new Carers Strategy, “Recognised, valued and supported: Next Steps for the Carers Strategy” has a strong focus on supporting young carers. It emphasises the important of adult and children's services, alongside the voluntary sector, working together to identify and support young carers.
	The Government will continue to work with local authorities and the voluntary sector to break down barriers to effective practice and support the spread of evidence-based practice. That is why the Department for Education is funding the Children's Society and the Princess Royal Trust for Carers up to £1.5 million until March 2013. They will encourage 'whole family' approaches to supporting young carers and promote the new e-learning module that the Department for Education has developed for school staff on the needs of young carers.
	My Department are considering the position of young carers within universal credit. For individuals and households who currently receive the severe disability premium there will be transitional protection where their universal credit would be less than under the old system, provided their circumstances remain the same.
	Information on the number of households receiving the severe disability premium is given in the following table.
	
		
			 Number of IS, PC and JSA claimants with a severe disability premium—November 2010 
			 Benefit Severe disability premium 
			 IS 228,560 
			 PC 709,600 
			 JSA 2,900 
			 Notes: 1. Income support (IS) and pension credit (PC) figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. Jobseeker's allowance (JSA) figures are to the nearest hundred. 2. IS figures exclude residual minimum income guarantee claimants. 3. Figures on employment and support allowance claimants with a severe disability premium are not centrally collated. Source: DWP Information Directorate 100% Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (Income Support, Pension Credit) and 5% sample (Jobseeker's Allowance).

Jobcentre Plus: Bexley

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints have been received by each JobCentre Plus in the London borough of Bexley in each of the last 12 months.

Chris Grayling: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Darra Singh. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Darra Singh
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how many complaints have been received by each Jobcentre Plus in the London Borough of Bexley in each of the last 12 months. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	There is only one Jobcentre Plus office in the London Borough of Bexley, and that is Bexleyheath Jobcentre Plus.
	The figures included in the table below represent all complaints made by, or relating to, a Bexleyheath Jobcentre customer. This includes complaints received at any point of the Jobcentre Plus complaints process, including at the Jobcentre, at District Office and those received by senior officials and Ministers.
	
		
			 Complaints received by Bexleyheath Jobcentre over the last 12 months 
			 Month complaints received Number of complaints 
			 June 2010 17 
			 July 2010 27 
			 August 2010 19 
			 September 2010 22 
			 October 2010 17 
			 November 2010 15 
			 December 2010 13 
			 January 2011 13 
		
	
	
		
			 February 2011 24 
			 March 2011 25 
			 April 2011 23 
			 May 2011 28 
			 Total 243

Jobseeker's Allowance: Barnsley

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of claimants of jobseeker's allowance in Barnsley East constituency who (a) have been affected by his Department's changes to entitlement to mortgage interest payments and (b) will be affected in the 12 months following the change.

Steve Webb: The standard interest rate which is used to calculate support for mortgage interest was changed to 3.63% from 1 October 2010. This change affects the entire support for mortgage interest caseload.
	(a) Number of JSA claimants receiving mortgage interest at November 2010: The number of JSA claimants receiving Mortgage Interest is based on 5% sample data; figures less than 500 are subject to a high degree of sample variation and should be used only as a guide. In Barnsley East the number is “nil or negligible”—as sample data is rounded to the nearest 100 this means that the derived figure is “less than 50” and so subject to large sample variation.
	(b) The information is hot available: DWP only forecasts claimant numbers for Great Britain, and not at devolved administration or regional level.

Roads: Safety

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans his Department has for road safety campaigns in schools in 2011-12.

Nick Gibb: The Department for Education has no plans for road safety campaigns in schools. A wealth of road safety material is available from other governmental, and non-governmental, organisations.
	The Department for Transport's Strategic Framework for Road Safety is under development and is planned to be published in the near future. The Department for Transport (DFT) has issued THINK! Education, a comprehensive set of free online road safety teaching resources that cover ages 4-16, available to all schools, to ensure that they have good quality materials that they will want to teach. It includes materials for teachers, pupils and parents and can also be used by out of school groups. It covers all aspects of road safety, from car seats for young children to pre-driver attitudes for secondary schools. It is available at
	www.dft.gov.uk/think/education/early-years-and-primary/
	and
	www.dft.gov.uk/think/education/secondary
	Resources for road safety education, supplied with support from the DFT, and complementary to the DFT material, are also available from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) at
	http://www.rospa.com/roadsafety/resources/teachers/
	RoSPA, the DFT and local road safety practitioners have worked together to produce a website,
	www.roadsafetyevaluation.com
	and an online toolkit called "E-valu-it" to help practitioners to evaluate road safety education, training and publicity interventions; to help ensure that limited resources are used to the best effect; and to share lessons about what education interventions work best, why and how. Directgov also carries road safety advice at
	http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/AdvancedSearch/Searchresults/index.htm?fullText=road+safety

School Leaving

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the adequacy of system to provide routes back into education for those who leave formal education at 16.

Nick Gibb: The Government are providing sufficient funding to pay for a place in education for any 16 to 18-year-old who wants one and all local authorities are expected to have a process to offer 17-year-olds a suitable place in education or training by the end of September. This process, which has been known as the 'September Guarantee', aims to ensure that all those who left education at 16 have a further opportunity to engage. 93.7% of 16-year-olds and 85.2% of 17-year-olds participated in education or work based education and training at the end of 2009.
	We recognise that the small group of young people who are not participating need additional support to do so. We are committed to raising the age at which all young people will participate in education or training to 17 in 2013 and 18 in 2015. Local authorities have a statutory duty to support young people to participate, including providing targeted support to vulnerable young people. We are providing funding for this through the Early Intervention Grant.
	We know that pupils who do not achieve good GCSEs are more likely to leave education at 16. We set out, alongside our plans to accept all of Alison Wolfs recommendations on vocational education, plans to review provision for these pupils, with the aim of increasing the proportion who are able to progress directly onto post-16 courses that will equip them with the skills that employers value. This review will build upon the findings of an independent evaluation of Foundation Learning, which already provides a route back into formal education for many young people.
	Young people all have individual needs and we want to ensure that local areas have the freedom and flexibility to meet these. We have commissioned 35 local authorities to explore new approaches to achieving full participation in their areas. This is intended to be a locally-led programme where the areas can share their findings with each other, and with authorities in areas that are doing less well, so that they can develop and build on each others' work.

Schools

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to reduce the incidence of extremism in schools.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 18 May 2011
	The Government are clear that there should be no place for extremist activities in any school. That is why the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has established a dedicated unit within the Department for Education focusing specifically on preventing extremism.
	The unit will focus on safeguards such as strengthening inspection arrangements. The Department for Education is working with Ofsted to ensure that inspectors have the necessary knowledge and expertise to determine whether extremist and intolerant beliefs are being promoted in a school. New arrangements for inspecting maintained schools, Academies and Free Schools are being developed and relevant training on aspects of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development will be provided to inspectors. Specialist inspectors that undertake work relating to independent schools are soon to receive more detailed training. We are sending a clear message that extremism will not be tolerated in schools.
	The full range of the unit's work will be set out in the Government's ‘Prevent’ strategy, the preventative strand of the Government's counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST.
	Prevent is currently under review and the new strategy will be published shortly.

Burma: Human Rights

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take further steps to address the human rights situation in Burma and promote the establishment of a UN Commission of Inquiry into that matter; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Browne: The Government have made clear its support for the UN Special Rapporteur's recommendation for the UN to consider establishing a Commission of Inquiry into human rights abuses in Burma. At the March Human Rights Council we helped secure text which expressed serious concern that previous calls to end impunity have not been heeded and called on the Burmese Government to undertake without delay an impartial and independent investigation into all human rights violations and with appropriate attention from the UN. In recent weeks we have discussed the issue of a Commission of Inquiry with United States of America and French officials and held discussions with EU counterparts on 9 March 2011. We continue to work closely with international partners to build support for a Commission of Inquiry.

Egypt: Females

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether any of the £40 million in the Arab Partnership Fund announced for political reform is to be used to support women's organisations in Egypt.

Jeremy Browne: As part of our £1.2 million Arab Partnership Programme to support the immediate political transition in Egypt, we are considering developing a project with a local NGO to encourage women's participation in the political sphere. The project aims to provide women participants with the skills and practical support to organize successful campaigns and promote human and women's rights within their communities.
	We are also sponsoring a visit to the UK for prominent revolutionary youth activists from both sexes, who are attempting to establish their own political parties and coalitions. The visit aims to expose the activists to British political life, providing them with a model for developing their nascent parties and skills to prepare for electoral campaigns.

Indonesia: Embassies

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reasons the British embassy in Indonesia was closed on 13 May 2011.

Jeremy Browne: The main British embassy building in Jakarta has been closed since 13 May 2011. We closed the embassy on 13 May 2011 on account of security concerns arising from the unauthorised actions of one of our neighbours, who disabled several security barriers and consequently left the embassy at risk of attack. We have had no choice but to close the embassy in order to protect our staff from the risks that working at an insufficiently secure embassy building in Jakarta would entail. We have registered our serious concern with the Indonesians authorities and have been working extremely hard with them to reach a solution whereby security is restored at the embassy. We cannot compromise the safety and security of our British and Indonesian staff. Our embassy will remain closed until we and our Indonesian counterparts reach and implement a viable solution.
	The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has discussed this issue with Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa on 20 May 2011, and I raised it again when I met him at the Asia Europe meeting in Budapest on 7 June 2011. Senior officials at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have also raised the seriousness of this situation with the Indonesian ambassador, most recently on 6 June.
	Our embassy is continuing to provide essential services to British nationals and businesses from secure fall-back locations but these do not offer a viable long-term alternative. However, the unfortunate and unexpectedly prolonged closure of the main building is having a damaging impact on the embassy's work, and the services we can offer UK business, British citizens and our Indonesian partners. Normal services will be resumed as soon as it is safe for staff to move back into the main embassy building.

Russia: Homosexuality

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the government of Russia in relation to steps taken against people seeking to demonstrate for gay equality in Moscow on 28 May 2011.

David Lidington: We have expressed serious concern to the Russian Government over its banning of Gay Pride rallies in Moscow, along with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) and freedom of assembly issues more widely. We have repeatedly called, and will continue to call, on the Russian Government to respect the rights of individuals to peaceful assembly.
	At our annual bilateral human rights consultations in January 2011, we called on Russia to respect the right to freedom of assembly of all individuals, including those protesting for the rights of LGBT people. We also work with EU partners to address the issue. In advance of the 28 May 2011 rally, EU officials discussed our concerns with a Russian delegation in Brussels. Representatives of EU embassies conducted monitoring of the rally.

Russia: Homosexuality

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the government of Russia about the recent decision on a permit for Moscow Gay Pride for a rally for gay equality.

David Lidington: We have expressed serious concern to the Russian Government over its banning of Gay Pride rallies in Moscow, along with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) and freedom of assembly issues more widely. We have repeatedly called, and will continue to call, on the Russian Government to respect the rights of individuals to peaceful assembly.
	At our annual bilateral human rights consultations in January 2011, we called on Russia to respect the right to freedom of assembly of all individuals, including those protesting for the rights of LGBT people. We also work with EU partners to address the issue. In advance of the 28 May 2011 rally, EU officials discussed our concerns with a Russian delegation in Brussels. Representatives of EU embassies conducted monitoring of the rally.

Violent and Sex Offender Register

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress her Department has made on its review of the sex offender register; when the report of that review will be published; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), set out plans for two key developments relating to the notification requirements for registered sex offenders (commonly referred to as the Sex Offenders' register) in her statement to the House on 16 February 2011, Official Report, column 959.
	She indicated that we would shortly bring forward proposals to implement the ruling of the Supreme Court in F and Thompson, in order to ensure that strict rules are put in place for considering whether sex offenders who are placed on the register for life should ever be removed. She also outlined plans to consult on proposals to further strengthen the management of sex offenders.
	We will shortly launch a targeted consultation seeking views on four key proposals to strengthen the notification requirements for registered sex offenders. The consultation will run for an eight week period.

Violent and Sex Offender Register

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress her Department has made in making it compulsory for persons on the sex offender register to report to the authorities their intention to travel abroad for periods of one day or more; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: In the statement to the House by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), on 16 February 2011, Official Report, column 959, she indicated that we would be consulting on proposals to further strengthen the management of sex offenders.
	We will shortly launch a targeted consultation seeking views on four key proposals to strengthen the notification requirements for registered sex offenders, including introducing a requirement for registered sex offenders to notify all foreign travel (currently only travel of three days or more is notified to the police). The consultation will run for an eight week period.

Open Prisons

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many available spaces there are on the open prison estate.

Crispin Blunt: The latest published data (from 15 April 2011) shows that there were 4,683 prisoners held in open prisons and that these prisons had an operational capacity of 4,871.
	This information is for all open prisons. This includes open female prisons, open young offender institutions and the relevant open parts of multi-site establishments; it does not include data for semi-open prisons or small (under 50 place) open units at closed prisons.

Apprentices

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the ability of small and medium-sized enterprises to offer apprenticeships in the current economic climate.

John Hayes: Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. High quality training opportunities like apprenticeships are key to supporting their growth and our economic success.
	Many small businesses place great value on an apprenticeship and are prepared to invest in them. The National Employer Skills Survey (NESS) shows a national estimate of the proportion of apprentices employed by employer size.
	These data are based on repeated surveys of up to 79,000 employers across all business sectors in England. Table 1 shows information from the published 2009 National Employer Skills Survey on the proportion of apprentices employed by the size of establishment, expressed as a percentage of all apprenticeships.
	
		
			 Table 1: Percentage of apprentices employed by establishment size (NESS 2009) 
			  Number of employees in establishment  
			  2-4 5-24 25-99 100-199 200-499 500+ Total 
			 Percentage apprentices employed 13 34 23 8 11 10 100 
		
	
	Figure 8.4, p.208 accessed on 6 June 2011 in:
	https://ness.ukces.org.uk/NESS09/default.aspx
	A number of steps have already been taken to further boost the number of apprenticeship places offered by small and medium sized employers, including:
	Establishing the National Apprenticeship Service with 'end to end' responsibility for delivering apprenticeships in England including access to information, advice and guidance to employers through their website;
	The introduction of apprenticeship vacancies to make it is easier for companies to advertise and recruit the right person;
	Expanding Group Training Association (GTAs) and apprenticeship Training Agency (ATAs) models to make it easier for small business take on apprentices; and
	Additional £75 million announced in the Budget to fund training and other support targeted at small and medium sized employers, particularly in industries such as advanced manufacturing, so that they can grow the number of people starting advanced and higher apprenticeships.
	We also worked with a group of employers, as well as the CBI and Federation of Small Businesses, to look at the 'end to end' processes faced by employers training apprentices. We are now considering how we can make it easier for SMEs to employ apprentices and will report on this in the autumn.

Employment Protection

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what evidence his Department holds on the effects of employment protection legislation on (a) recruitment levels and (b) job creation.

Edward Davey: There has been a substantial amount of academic consideration of the relationship between employment protection legislation and recruitment levels and job creation both nationally and internationally.
	The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in its Job Study Review of 2006 provided a summary of this evidence in its policy pamphlet ‘Boosting Jobs and Income: Policy Lessons from Reassessing the OECD Jobs Strategy’. It concluded that:
	‘The link between the stance of employment protection legislation and aggregate unemployment is uncertain in theory, and in practice is dependent on the specific national context. However, there is evidence that too-strict legislation will hamper labour mobility, reduce the dynamic efficiency of the economy and restrain job creation. This may worsen job prospects of certain groups, like young people, women and the long-term unemployed.’
	In addition, there is international evidence that the UK has one of the least restrictive systems of employment protection in the OECD. It also has one of the highest rates of recruitment; high employment rates of women, the young and older people; and low levels of long term unemployment. There is evidence that the employment regulation system, in the UK has contributed to these favourable labour market outcomes.
	Finally, there is evidence that the perceptions of the restrictiveness of employment legislation differ from the actual situation in the UK. Perceptions are that employment legislation is more restrictive than is actually the case.
	In summary, there is evidence that the UK employment protection system compares favourably with many other countries in its effect on recruitment levels and job creation. However, OECD evidence also suggests that:
	‘the precise balance between the different policy planks depends on country circumstances and institutions’
	which suggests that it may be possible to improve upon this position. Consequently, the Government are carrying out the Employment Law Review in order to see whether further improvements in employment and growth can be achieved.

Blood: CJD

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the costs of the (a) development and (b) implementation of (i) prion filtration and (ii) a blood test for vCJD.

Anne Milton: With regard to prion filtration I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Ogmore (Huw Irranca-Davies) on 23 May 2011,
	Official Report
	, column 423W. Costs of development are borne by manufacturers.
	With regard to blood tests no estimates have been made of the costs of the development and implementation of a blood test for variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vGD) as there is currently no test proven to identify asymptomatic vCJD infection.

Health Services: North East

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) doctors, (b) midwives, (c) specialist scientific staff, (d) nurses, (e) medical managers, (f) non-medical managers, (g) administrators and (h) healthcare assistants were employed in the North East in each year since 1990.

Simon Burns: Information is not available in the format requested. Information on the numbers of national health service staff in the North East Strategic Health Authority Area by main staff group, including doctors, midwives, specialist scientific staff, nurses, managers, administrators and healthcare assistants in each year since 1995 is shown in the following table.
	Information cannot be provided from 1990 onwards, as comparable work force data are available only from 1995.
	
		
			 Headcount  (1) 
			  1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 
			 All Doctors(2) 4,602 4,829 5,033 5,048 5,269 5,489 5,656 5,823 
			 Medical and Dental staff(2) 3,124 3,359 3,548 3,542 3,749 3,953 4,053 4,178 
			 General Practitioners (GPs) (ex retainers)(3) 1,478 1,470 1,485 1,506 1,520 1,536 1,603 1,645 
			          
			 Practice Nurses 890 827 807 954 1,002 881 942 1,031 
			          
			 All Non-medical Staff 49,279 51,112 51,249 51,523 53,706 55,718 58,537 60,357 
			          
			 Professionally qualified clinical staff 22,983 23,169 22,939 23,435 24,376 24,814 25,963 26,854 
			 Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 18,024 18,227 17,791 18,079 18,870 19,125 20,035 20,473 
			 Of which:         
			 Midwives 1,342 1,234 1,224 1,141 1,088 1,083 1,276 1,241 
			 Qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff (ST&T) 4,637 4,637 4,854 4,949 5,177 5,399 5,654 6,119 
			 Qualified ambulance service staff 322 305 294 407 329 290 274 262 
			          
			 Support to clinical staff 15,356 16,387 17,230 17,766 18,533 19,430 20,747 21,045 
			 Support to doctors and nursing staff 12,523 13,422 14,271 14,889 15,618 16,420 17,433 17,604 
		
	
	
		
			 Of which:         
			 Healthcare Assistants 542 650 590 928 1,097 1,099 1,427 1,467 
			 Support to ST&T staff 1,864 1,898 1,953 2,034 2,199 2,253 2,512 2,614 
			 Of which:         
			 Healthcare Assistants 6 10 10 47 47 38 35 26 
			          
			 Support to ambulance staff 969 1,067 1,006 843 716 757 802 827 
			          
			 NHS infrastructure support(4) 10,689 10,667 10,951 10,277 10,767 11,437 11,783 12,433 
			 Central functions 3,629 3,849 3,923 3,883 4,053 4,390 4,802 5,391 
			 Hotel, property and estates 6,156 5,863 6,125 5,415 5,646 5,857 5,770 5,654 
			 Managers and senior managers 904 955 903 979 1,068 1,190 1,211 1,388 
			          
			 Other staff or those with unknown classification 251 889 129 45 30 37 44 25 
		
	
	
		
			 Headcount  (1) 
			  2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010  (1) 
			 All Doctors(2) 6,071 6,524 6,637 6,937 7,090 7,353 7,788 7,915 
			 Medical and Dental staff(2) 4,330 4,699 4,764 4,942 5,145 5,367 5,686 5,820 
			 General Practitioners (GPs) (ex retainers)(3) 1,741 1,825 1,873 1,995 1,945 1,986 2,102 2,071 
			          
			 Practice Nurses 1,117 1,124 1,064 1,167 1,123 1,099 1,224 1,097 
			          
			 All Non-medical Staff 61,901 65,034 66,193 65,681 64,172 66,714 69,067 69,338 
			          
			 Professionally qualified clinical staff 27,852 29,341 29,782 30,367 30,468 31,458 31,981 31,735 
			 Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 20,991 22,065 22,291 22,220 22,296 22,937 23,153 22,882 
			 Of which:         
			 Midwives 1,205 1,277 1,274 1,276 1,288 1,331 1,382 1,297 
			 Qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff (ST&T) 6,579 6,969 7,162 7,327 7,342 7,794 8,081 8,113 
			 Qualified ambulance service staff 282 307 329 820 830 727 747 745 
			          
			 Support to clinical staff 22,163 22,637 22,892 22,318 20,739 21,796 22,786 23,722 
			 Support to doctors and nursing staff 18,500 18,686 18,907 18,620 17,296 17,890 18,543 19,443 
			 Of which:         
			 Healthcare Assistants 2,013 2,824 2,949 2,762 3,222 3,936 4,298 4,011 
			 Support to ST&T staff 2,826 3,067 3,034 2,980 2,794 2,973 3,240 3,235 
			 Of which:         
			 Healthcare Assistants 20 23 19 18 24 22 22 15 
			 Support to ambulance staff 837 884 951 718 649 933 1,003 1,064 
			          
			 NHS infrastructure support(4) 11,852 13,026 13,491 12,971 12,951 13,446 14,294 13,999 
			 Central functions 5,413 5,620 6,095 5,754 5,784 6,069 6,524 6,509 
			 Hotel, property and estates 4,837 5,728 5,669 5,518 5,347 5,443 5,690 5,555 
			 Managers and senior managers 1,602 1,678 1,727 1,699 1,820 1,934 2,080 1,943 
			          
		
	
	
		
			 Other staff or those with unknown classification 34 30 28 25 14 14 6 5 
			 (1) The new headcount methodology for 2010 data is not fully comparable with previous years data due to improvements that make it a more stringent count of absolute staff numbers. Further information on the headcount methodology is available in the “NHS Workforce: Summary of staff in the NHS: Results from September 2010 Census” publication which is available in the Library. (2) Excludes medical Hospital Practitioners and medical Clinical Assistants, most of whom are GPs working part time in hospitals. (3) GP Retainers were first collected in 1999 and have been omitted for comparability purposes. (4) NHS Infrastructure support staff includes administrative senior managers, managers, clerical staff, Human Resources, Finance, Information Technology, and other areas of work which do not involve patient contact. Notes: 1. Comparable workforce data is only available from 1995. 2. 2010 Headcount totals are unlikely to equal the sum of components. 3. Medical and dental data as at 30 September each year. 4. GP data as at 1 October 1991-99 and 30 September 2000-10. 5. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality. Where changes impact on figures already published, this is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses. Sources: 1. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care 2010 Non-Medical Workforce Census 2. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care Medical and Dental Workforce Census 3. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care General and Personal Medical Services Statistics.

Netcare Healthcare UK

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he or officials of his Department have met representatives of (a) Netcare, (b) Network Healthcare Holdings Ltd and (c) General Healthcare Group since his appointment; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: Ministers have not had meetings with these organisations, Officials at the Department have routine operational contact with General Healthcare Group as part of their involvement with the provision of services through the Extended Choice Network.
	Representatives from the General Healthcare Group met with officials on 27 January 2011, 14 April 2011 and 6 June 2011.

Sickle Cell Diseases: Children

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to ensure suitable training for clinical staff in the theory, protocols and equipment used in transcranial doppler scanning for stroke on children with sickle cell disease.

Anne Milton: The content and standard of healthcare training is the responsibility of the independent regulatory bodies.
	Through their role as the custodians of quality standards in education and practice, these organisations are committed to ensuring high quality patient care delivered by high quality health professionals and that healthcare professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to deal with the problems and conditions they will encounter in practice.
	While it is not practicable or desirable for the Government to prescribe the exact training that any individual doctor will receive we are, of course, aware of the need to ensure perceived areas of weakness in training curricula are addressed. The Department has sponsored training courses for healthcare professionals for trans cranial doppler (TCD) scanning carried out by Guy's and St Thomas' Foundation Trust and King's College Hospital Foundation Trust. In March 2009, the NHS Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Screening Programme published standards and guidelines for TCD scanning.

Social Services: Inspections

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many inspections were carried out by the Care Quality Commission or its predecessors in each year between 2000 and 2010; and how many have been carried out in 2011 to date.

Simon Burns: The following information has been provided by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The CQC has advised it cannot confirm the accuracy of data produced by the National Care Standards Commission and is therefore unable to supply data prior to 2004.
	
		
			 Completed inspections under the Care Standards Act 2000 and reviews of compliance under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 for regulated health and social care services  (1) 
			  2004-05 2005-06 2006-07  (2) 2007-08  (3) 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11  (4) 1 April 2011 -7 June 2011 
			 Adult social care inspections (Care Standards Act 1 April 2004 - 30 September 2010) 48,062 47,341 26,676 19,059 15,072 11,477 4,094 — 
			 Independent healthcare inspections (Care Standards Act 1 April 2007 - 30 September 2010)(5) — — — 369 764 884 279 — 
			 All sectors: reviews of compliance (Health and Social Care Act 1 April 2010 - 31 March 2011)(6) — — — — — — 986 1,359 
			 (1 )These data do not include activities under the Mental Health Act as visits under this Act are not formal assessments of the overall standard of care and treatment at a service. (2) From 2006-07, there was a reduction in number of adult social care inspections due to changes in methodology, changes to statutory inspection plus a focus on poorer services. (3 )Further reduction in inspection numbers due to the transfer of children's services to Ofsted from 1 April 2007. (4) During 2010-11 providers were moved from inspections under the Care Standards Act 2000 to reviews of compliance under Health and Social Care Act 2008, a more risk based approach to the frequency of inspections. (5) Pre-2007 data not available. (6) 1 April 2010 to 30 September 2010 national health service data only. From 1 October 2010 data is reviews of compliance for NHS, independent healthcare and adult social care. 
		
	
	The CQC no longer carries out performance assessment of adult social care providers under the Care Standards Act 2000. From 1 October 2010 providers of adult social care are now subject to the requirements of the Health and Social Care Act 2008, which requires all health and social care providers to register with the CQC and meet essential requirements of safety and quality. The CQC is in the process of consulting on a new excellence award for adult social care, which will provide further information to people using services on the quality of care provided.
	The CQC regulation is increasingly based on a wide spectrum of information covering hard data, observations made on the ground and patient experience.
	The CQC has a risk-based approach to the frequency of its inspections of providers. Under the new system, the CQC can make short, focussed unannounced site visits with direct observations of care at any time. This lets the CQC see how care is being delivered at first hand and on an everyday basis.

Departmental Billing

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what mechanism his Department has established to ensure its payments are passed through the supply chain to each tier in accordance with the last date for payment defined in the Government's Fair Payment guidance.

Bob Neill: My Department's mechanism to ensure that payments are passed through the supply chain in accordance with the Government's Fair Payment guidance is via a standard contract clause.
	“A6.8 Where the Contractor enters into a sub-contract for the purpose of performing its obligations under the Contract, it shall cause a term to be included in such sub-contract which requires payment to be made by the Contractor to the sub-contractor within a specified period not exceeding 30 Days from receipt of a valid invoice as defined by the sub-contract.”
	The Government's Guide to best 'Fair Payment' practices, which applies to construction procurement, can be found at:
	www.ogc.gov.uk/documents/Guide_to_Fair_Payment_Practices.pdf

Military Aid

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which countries have participated in military training in UK territory in each of the last 10 years.

Nick Harvey: The Ministry of Defence has a long tradition of training international military and civilian personnel at its training establishments throughout the United Kingdom. Much of the training covers a range of activities in support of bilateral defence relationships in order to strengthen international security and co-operation. The following table gives details of countries that have participated in military training in the UK in the last nine financial years (2001-02 to 2009-10). Information for the preceding year would be available only at disproportionate cost as it was not collated and held centrally before 2001. Data for financial year 2010-11 will be available at the end of June 2011. The information collected does not include training provided at our Overseas Territories as the information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The majority of this training comprises individual students attending military courses in the UK.
	
		
			 Country 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 
			 Afghanistan N N N Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Albania Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y N 
			 Algeria Y N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Angola N Y N Y Y N N N N 
			 Antigua and Barbuda N Y Y Y Y Y Y N N 
			 Argentina Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N 
			 Armenia N Y N Y Y Y Y N Y 
			 Australia Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
		
	
	
		
			 Austria Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Azerbaijan N Y Y Y Y Y N N N 
			 Bahamas Y Y Y Y N N N Y Y 
			 Bahrain Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Bangladesh Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Barbados Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N 
			 Belarus N N N N N N N Y N 
			 Belgium Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Belize Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Benin N N N N N N N N Y 
			 Bhutan N N N Y N N N N N 
			 Bolivia N N Y Y N N N N N 
			 Bosnia-Herzegovina N N Y N Y N Y Y Y 
			 Botswana Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Brazil Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Brunei Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Bulgaria Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N 
			 Burundi N N N N Y Y N N N 
			 Cambodia N N N N Y N N N N 
			 Canada Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Chile Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 China (includes Hong Kong) Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Colombia N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Congo Rep N N N N N N Y Y Y 
			 Cote D'ivoire N N N Y N N N N N 
			 Croatia Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N N 
			 Czech Republic Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Democratic Rep. Congo N N N N Y Y Y Y N 
			 Denmark Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Djibouti N N N N Y Y N N N 
			 Ecuador N N N N Y N N N N 
			 Egypt Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 El Salvador N N N N Y N N N N 
			 Eritrea N N N Y N N N N N 
			 Estonia Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Ethiopia N Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y 
			 Fiji N Y Y Y Y Y N N N 
			 Finland Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 France Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Gabon N N N N Y Y Y N N 
			 Gambia N N Y Y Y Y Y Y N 
			 Georgia Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Germany Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Ghana Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Greece Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Grenada N Y N N N N N N N 
			 Guatemala Y Y Y Y Y Y N N Y 
			 Guyana Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N N 
			 Honduras N Y Y N Y N N N N 
			 Hungary Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N 
			 Iceland Y N N Y Y Y N N N 
			 India Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Indonesia N N Y Y Y Y Y Y N 
			 Iraq N N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Israel Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Italy Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Jamaica Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Japan Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Jordan Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Kazakhstan N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Kenya Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Republic of Korea Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Kosovo n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a N Y 
		
	
	
		
			 Kuwait Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Kyrgyzstan Y Y Y N Y N N N N 
			 Latvia Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Lebanon Y N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Lesotho N N N N Y Y N N N 
			 Liberia N N N N N N Y N N 
			 Libya N N N Y Y N Y Y N 
			 Lithuania Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N 
			 Luxembourg Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y N 
			 Fyr Macedonia Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y N 
			 Malawi Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Malaysia Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Maldives N N N N Y N N N N 
			 Malta Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Mauritania N Y N N N N N N N 
			 Mauritius N Y Y Y N Y N N N 
			 Mexico N Y Y N N N N N N 
			 Moldova Y Y Y Y Y Y N N N 
			 Mongolia N N N N Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Morocco Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Montenegro Y Y Y Y Y N N N N 
			 Mozambique Y N Y Y Y Y N N N 
			 Namibia N Y Y N Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Nepal Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Netherlands Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 New Zealand Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Nicaragua N N N N Y N N N Y 
			 Niger N N N N N N N N Y 
			 Nigeria Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Norway Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Oman Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Pakistan Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Occupied Palestinian Territories N N N N N Y Y Y Y 
			 Panama N N N N Y N N N N 
			 Papua New Guinea Y Y N N N N N Y N 
			 Paraguay Y Y N N N N N N N 
			 Peru Y N N Y Y Y Y Y N 
			 Philippines Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N N 
			 Poland Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Portugal Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Qatar Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Republic of Ireland Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Romania Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Russian Federation Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N N 
			 Rwanda Y N N N Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Saudi Arabia Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Senegal Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Serbia Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Seychelles N N N N Y Y Y N N 
			 Sierra Leone Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Singapore Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Slovakia Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N 
			 Slovenia Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 South Africa Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Spain Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Sri Lanka Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 St Kitts and Nevis N N Y N Y N N N N 
			 St Lucia N N N N Y N N N Y 
			 St Vincent and the Grenadines Y N Y N Y Y N N N 
			 Sudan N N N Y N Y Y Y Y 
			 Swaziland N N Y N N N N N Y 
			 Sweden Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Switzerland Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
		
	
	
		
			 Syria Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y N 
			 Tajikistan N N N Y N N N N N 
			 Tanzania Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Thailand Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Timor L'este N N N N N N N N Y 
			 Tonga N N N Y Y Y N Y Y 
			 Trinidad and Tobago Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Tunisia N N Y Y Y N N N N 
			 Turkey Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Turkmenistan N N N Y N N N N N 
			 Uganda Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Ukraine Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 United Arab Emirates Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 USA Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Uruguay Y N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Uzbekistan N Y Y Y N N N N N 
			 Venezuela N N N Y Y N N N N 
			 Vietnam N Y N Y Y Y Y N N 
			 Yemen Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 
			 Zambia N N Y Y Y Y Y Y N

Armed Conflict: Sexual Offences

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department is providing support to the office of the UN Special Representative for Sexual Violence in Conflict.

Andrew Mitchell: The Department for International Development (DFID) strongly supports the work of the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, whom the Minister of State, Department for International Development, the right hon. Member for Rutland and Melton (Mr Duncan), met on 19 January 2011. Ministers meet regularly to discuss the UK's work in this area and the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department and the Minister for Equalities, my hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Lynne Featherstone), raises awareness and builds support lot this as the UK's International Violence Against Women Champion. We are firmly committed to tackling sexual violence in armed conflict as part of our wider work to address violence against women and girls, in support of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.
	For example, DFID currently supports the United Nations' Humanitarian Pooled Fund for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which in 2010 funded several projects responding to the needs of victims of sexual violence. Through this mechanism, UK funds provided over 27,000 women with emergency medical care and almost 3,500 women with psychosocial support. The UK also works to strengthen the ability of UN Peacekeeping troops in DRC to protect civilians from sexual violence.

Diaspora Organisations

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the date was of each meeting he has had with representatives from diaspora organisations in the UK.

Andrew Mitchell: I have met representatives of diaspora organisations on a number of occasions in the past year. Many diaspora organisations belong to BOND and NIDOS, the Scottish umbrella group for NGOs. In November 2010 I spoke at the BOND AGM. I have also had regularly meetings with NIDOS and am meeting the organisation today in Edinburgh.
	The Under-Secretary of State for International Development, the hon. Member for Eddisbury (Mr O'Brien), spoke at the launch of Africa-UK in February 2011, a new national initiative dedicated to enhancing the contribution of the diaspora to Africa's development.
	Department for International Development (DFID) officials meet regularly with diaspora organisations. The mast recent of these meetings was a diaspora network event hosted by NIDOS in Edinburgh in March 2011.

Energy: Infrastructure

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent progress has been made on his Department's National Policy Statements for energy infrastructure; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: As the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, my right hon. Friend the Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne), said in his statement to this House on 18 May 2011, Official Report, columns 20-21WS, we are carefully considering Dr Weightman's interim report on the implications for the UK of events at Fukushima and subject to that we intend to lay the energy National Policy Statements before Parliament as soon as possible.